ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 24798
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 August 1934 |
| Time: | 23:56 |
| Type: |  Lockheed 10A Electra |
| Owner/operator: | Northwest Airlines |
| Registration: | NC14243 |
| MSN: | 1002 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Milwaukee, WI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Milwaukee |
| Chicago | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The plane was being operated between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois, with stops at Minneapolis and Milwaukee. The plane's fuel tanks were filled to capacity at the start of the flight. After landing at Milwaukee, the fuel gauges indicated a 5/8 full right tank and a 1/2 full left tank.
Takeoff from Milwaukee was made using the left fuel tank only. At an altitude of about 20 feet, the fuel warning lights came on and the left engine stopped. The pilot immediately switched the fuel valve to feed from both tanks and the co-pilot used the wobble pump. The plane settled to the ground with enough force to blow the right tire and break the right hub and wheel structure. At the time of impact, the left engine started again , and, under power of both engines, the plane rose to an altitude of 50 to 75 feet. At this time, the right engine stopped, throwing the plane slightly to the right. The pilot immediately switched back to the left tank and the co-pilot continued to use the wobble pump but did not feel that any fuel was getting through. As the plane started to settle, the left engine slowly lost speed and the plane slid off on the right wing and nose, cartwheeling some 75 feet and coming to rest in an upright position.
The airplane had recently been received from the factory and had been put into service without anyone having a definite knowledge of the amount of fuel it consumed per hour of normal flying. This was the pilot's first flight in this particular plane, and he took off on the general assumption that its fuel consumption was about 43 gallons per hour. Although the fuel gauge readings after 1 1/4 hours of flying (right tank 5/8 full; left tank full) indicated that something wasn't right when fuel should have been draining from both tanks, the gauge readings after landing at Milwaukee (right tank 5/8 full; left tank 1/2 full) indicated a fuel consumption reasonably close to the assumption of 43 gallons per hour.
However, an inspection of the fuel system after the accident disclosed that the right tank contained from 50 to 60 gallons of fuel and that the feed lines from this tank were full. The left tank was found to contain about one gallon and the feed lines were dry. This indicated a fuel consumption of approximately 60 gallons per hour, and although his left gauge indicated a tank 1/2 full, actually the tank was practically empty at time of takeoff from Milwaukee.
Probable causes of the accident were: 1) Failure of the Supervisory Personnel to definitely determine the actual fuel consumption of a new airplane before placing it in scheduled operation. 2) Failure of the fuel gauge on the left tank to function accurately. 3) Pilot error for failing to attempt to use the right fuel tank after the instrument board warning light had indicated that the tank which he was using was about empty.~
Sources:
Bureau of Air Commerce accident report, 9 January 1935, https://prcarc1.erau.edu/awweb/pdfopener?md=1&did=6532
Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913 / Rene J. Francillon
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 23-Apr-2010 12:16 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Nature, Damage, Narrative] |
| 23-Apr-2010 12:28 | TB | Updated [Operator] |
| 14-Dec-2012 12:09 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Oct-2016 17:41 | ASASA | Updated [Time, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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